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Godiva Festival announces important changes ahead of its 20th anniversary

Godiva Festival announces important changes ahead of its 20th anniversary

Published Thursday, 19 July 2018

Godiva Festival has confirmed that its 20th anniversary celebration will bring something new to the table this year, with changes to the site layout and festival offer set to be in place.

Organisers have confirmed that the whole site will now be a fenced area, including the fairground, with three public entrances to the site from Kenilworth Road, Coat of Arms Bridge Road and along the path next to the park’s Visitor Centre. These changes will help site security and access to the festival over the weekend, which runs from Friday 31 August to Sunday 2 September this year.

The site will no longer have a designated ‘Family Field’; although the festival will continue its strong family offer across the whole weekend this year and be spread across the whole festival site. In addition the family offer will be available for longer hours across the weekend, plus be open on the Friday evening, enabling visitors to enjoy the activities.

Councillor Abdul Khan, Cabinet Member for Events at Coventry City Council, said: “We want to be clear that we’re still very much a family festival, offering all of the activities and things to do that parents and children alike love so much. However, we want to make sure we’re making best use of the space within the festival site and ensure we’re continuing to make improvements to the festival every year.

“It’s Godiva Festival’s 20th anniversary, so we want to make sure that we’re not only celebrating the anniversary, but helping keeping the festival offer fresh. We know how loved Godiva Festival is and what a big impact it has on the city in terms of economic benefits and community engagement and city profile, especially relevant as we continue to celebrate being UK City of Culture 2021.”

Attendees planning to attend the festival will still need to be aware of the Conditions of Entry and items that are not permitted including glass (including perfume bottles), sprays, flares and drones. People are also only permitted to bring sealed clear plastic bottles of water or soft drinks. Opened cans are not permitted.

Godiva Festival organisers have also confirmed that this year, the festival will implement a no-dogs policy (excepting guide dogs), following concerns from local vets for dogs’ welfare.

A local independent vet said: “Parks and music festivals can be over-stimulating for dogs, with so many people and so much noise. Dogs can be accidentally trampled by people and the noise can be painful for dogs' ears because it’s so loud.

“Dogs also need lots of water and shade, which can be difficult to provide in an open field. Even discarded food on the floor can pose risks, as things like chocolate or onions can make dogs very sick. So we’re really pleased Godiva Festival is making this decision and prioritising dog welfare.”

Attendees are still welcome to bring dogs and make use of the other areas of the park outside of the fenced area, but will not be permitted inside the fenced area at the Godiva Festival.

Godiva Festival 2018 will take place from 31 August – 2 September in the city’s War Memorial Park.

Coventry Godiva Festival is brought to you by Coventry City Council, supported by Free Radio and in association with Fargo and Coventry UK City of Culture 2021.

People can keep up to date with the latest news for Godiva Festival 2018 by following @godivafestival on Twitter and Facebook, or seeing www.godivafestival.com